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Wednesday, August 31, 2016

That
Burger King Triple Whopper Large Meal leaves you smeared with grease, bloated,
and tired. How often do you feel
incapable and unmotivated to write after imbibing? Lucky for us all, there’s plenty of food that’s
more likely to make you feel clearheaded and so incredibly clever your critique
group will bow to you. I use to be a
weight loss counselor. I saw better
diets turn my clients from potatoes into Iron Men—hyperbole perhaps, but you
get the point.

In
the '90s I changed course, turning to travel and food writing, eventually signing
a literary cookbook contract with a publishing company, though it ended up
falling through when I lost my photographer. Downer moment aside—I have the experience to
confidently come to you with good news. Feeding your mind doesn’t have to take a ton of time out of your
deadline-cloister.

Trends in writing styles change
up; it’s possible Melville and Steinbeck’s crazy-long descriptions wouldn’t get
a second look by Simon & Schuster today. Nutrition education, too, has gone through some tweaking since I was a counselor. The nuts and bolts have changed; even
the food pyramid has been supplanted by a plate split into four sections: fruit,
vegetables, grains and protein. Plus a lonely
little dairy circle outside the plate—a minor character apparently. The primary aim of this image is to fight obesity.

Just as having rambunctious triplets and a
needy spouse could make walking feel like trudging through wet cement, carrying
around extra pounds can make your body sluggish and your brain sludgy. But it’s not only about keeping a healthy
weight. There are specific foods that
will help you maintain a fit mind.

A fit mind is a better writing mind.

You likely know
how you should be eating. You know quality
food helps energy, mindset, and even your relationships—after all, it’s
incredibly important to have friends and family supporting you in this
masochistic career you’ve chosen. You
recognize the need, but you use excuses not to eat well.

Maybe you “don’t
like rabbit food.”

Or you don’t have time to prepare elaborate meals.

You aren’t
fooling anybody when you say you have a crush on the 20-something beauty at the
drive thru window.

We
don’t want to feel deprived.

I’m not
suggesting ostentatious six-course meals (unless you’re a foodie and food
writer like me) or fad diets (those can be more risky than hopping on board the
tail end of a genre trend).

Writer-healthy eating starts with learning which foods feed our
brains, then focusing on them. It can be
as simple as adding more vegetables and whole grains. And fruits and oily fish like salmon, known
to power up the brain, make learning and remembering easier. As an added bonus for us loony-toon writers,
they also promote emotional stability.

Cut back on salt, fat and sugar. That last one damages your teeth anyway, leaving you unfit to do that
keynote speech after your third bestseller.

Think variety, balance, and moderation. That three day binge fueled by fifty-six
Frappuccinos and 20 Lindor truffles, may not be a good idea. Once you try better foods, your body will
start to crave the good stuff. It’ll be like
having an intractable addiction to a gripping mystery series.

Drink a lot of water (bathroom stretches
are good for us). Minimize caffeine even
when you aren’t on a writing binge; it can trigger panic attacks over deadlines. You may have stayed up until three am finishing
that last chapter, making you late to work, but don’t skip breakfast (even if
it’s yogurt, a piece of fruit and a granola bar eaten while on your tractor). Replace fried foods with some mind-power
alternatives.

You know that pesky thought glitch caused
by your 100th rejection letter? Fish, leafy greens, and eggs fight that sort of cognitive impairment
because they are rich in B vitamins.

Some savvy scientists say vitamin E helps prevent
cognitive decline, so try to eat more asparagus, leafy greens, olives, brown rice, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Vagueness being one curse of a first draft, I’ll be more specific: pumpkin
seeds enhance memory and thinking skills that help us when brainstorming our
next novels. They also lead to the
uptake of that blessed good-mood chemical, serotonin. Many of us can use that.

Red peppers, broccoli, and citrus fruits are
good for mental agility, making it easier to jump through all the hoops that
are required to publish. As to the finer
details, experiment with herbs and spices. Sage improves memory and concentration, but add it at the end of
preparation to protect the beneficial oils. Kind of like a line edit!

I’m the antonym of vegetarian, and I’m not sure who came
up with this bunk, but some bogus dudes claim eating less dairy and meat might
help ward off depression over an unsuccessful pitch. Eat tomatoes rather than throw them at the winners
of the contest you entered but failed to final in. And right before the awards banquet, where
you’ll sit by your agent of choice, eat miracle blueberries so your teeth will
be a lovely sapphire and those little skins will stick there as evidence of
your healthy diet.

Started
walking—often listening to the recordings of conference workshops, paper and
pen in hand so I could stop and take notes when needed, then graduated to
dancing.

Activity and reasonable changes to diet can make a lot
of difference.

About the Author:Karen is an editor, ghostwriter, pitch coach, speaker and award-winning author of novels, cookbooks, and screenplays. She’s written over a dozen solo and collaborative scripts (with Janet Fogg, Christian Lyons and director Erich Toll); each has garnered international, national and regional recognition: Moondance Film Festival, BlueCat, All She Wrote, Lighthouse Writers, Boulder Asian Film Festival, SouthWest Writers Contest, and PPW Contest. Find out more at www.karenalbrightlin.com

Monday, August 29, 2016

By: J.T. Evans

We recently had a member get approached by a publisher with
a request for $4,000 to publish her short story. To be more clear: the
publisher wanted the author to pay them.

This is not how the publishing industry is supposed to work.
Money should flow toward the author of the work, with a few exceptions.
I'll cover these exceptions at the end of the article.

The practice of the author paying for the privilege of
getting his or her work printed via a publisher is called "vanity publication."
It preys on the author's vanity and desire to see their word in print. Many
"green" authors fall victim to the urge to get their words printed,
and making a naïve move is something we're trying to get folks to avoid.

The practice of requiring the author to pay money is
entirely predatory and abusive. When an author is approached with a deal along
these lines, they should not walk away…they should run away.

There are a few resources online to check out publishers if
there are questionable practices going on. Some of them are:

The practice of requesting money from an author is not limited
to these nefarious publishing houses. Disreputable agents (who are rare)
may require their clients to pay "editorial fees" or "marketing
fees" to them for development of their work. This is not how agents should
work. Whether or not the agent does development work on a piece before submitting
to publishers is up to the agent, the author, and their relationship. However,
the agent should not charge the author for these efforts. The agent should only
collect their agreed-upon percentage when the author receives payment from the
publisher.

If a deal with a publisher or agent comes across your desk,
I highly recommend hiring an independent attorney who specializes in
intellectual property rights to review the contract before signing away.

It's a great thing to receive a contract! However, take a
day or three to sit back, breathe, consider the contract, and get in touch with
an attorney before moving forward.

At the start of this article, I mentioned some exceptions to
the "money flows toward the author" rule. If you are self-publishing,
then hiring a professional editor, cover artist, layout expert, marketing guru,
and other masters that will make your book better will cost you money. However,
these folks are ones who you approach and hire on your own. They work for you
in their area of specialty.

Like with self-publishing, if you are chasing down the
traditional publishing deal, hiring a professional editor to assist you in
polishing your work before submitting to agents and editors is not a bad idea
if you can afford it. Again, this has a cost and will cause money to "flow
away" from you, but this is entirely your choice and within your control.

Unfortunately, Pikes Peak Writers doesn't have an attorney
on staff or within our volunteer ranks, so we can't offer specific legal advice
on contracts. Regardless of our inability to offer legal advice, we can at
least point out areas where contracts can be abusive or predatory toward our
fellow authors.

Best of luck with your work, and happy writing!

J.T. Evans writes fantasy novels. He also dabbles with science fiction and horror short stories. He is the president of Pikes Peak Writers. When not writing, he secures computers at the Day Job, homebrews great beers, spends time with his family, and plays way too many card/board/role-playing games.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Veronica Roth, born Aug 19,1988, is an American novelist and short story writer known for her debut New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy, consisting of Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant; and Four: A Divergent Collection, which have been adapted for movies.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Donnell Ann Bell's fourth mystery/romantic suspense is now on sale on all digital markets throughout August 31 for $1.99. What readers are saying . . . . . . "Now this is romantic suspense." . . . "Such a great story teller you get lost in her
books."

A devastating secret drove her from her lover's arms. Will a secret equally as deadly lead her back to him? Diana Reid is an investigative reporter skilled at uncovering other people's secrets. It's her own that she works to keep buried. Eight years earlier, she promised to leave her fiancé and hometown of Diamond, Texas forever. That pledge vanishes when she receives a letter that people are going to die, implicating her hometown's largest employer, and making a veiled threat against her mother. With no other choice, Diana will return to Diamond, albeit in disguise, to discover the anonymous author.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

If you’ve ever
had stress kick on like a pilot light in the middle of the night, or felt it
stalk you with twenty-four-seven persistence, then welcome to the human race.

The Oxford
Dictionary defines stress as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension
resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. The causes can be
internal (fear of pubic speaking, worry about a medical procedure) or external
(buying a house, taking a new job, suffering a loss).

So, yes, stress
is part of being human. But in today’s hyper-demanding world of social media,
twenty-four-hour news, and contentious presidential elections, we can find
ourselves perpetually anxious. The flight-or-flight response that protected us
from dire wolves has itself become a monster. Headache, chest pain, fatigue,
lack of focus, depression, insomnia—these are only a few of the joys visited
upon us by stress.

And, oh boy, am
I intimately familiar with the havoc stress inflicts. A few years ago, a
wildfire and other traumas kicked my personal anxiety into the stratosphere.
After my life returned to some semblance of its pre-trauma state, my body
didn’t get the memo. Even minor, everyday stressors like getting cut-off in
traffic caused my anxiety to spike. This, I learned, was normal. The body holds
onto trauma with the persistence of a politician with an applause-winning
soundbite.

It was no way
to live. I had to channel my inner Beowulf and slay the beast.

Enter hours of
research and months of practice. Over time, I created a list of stress-busters
that work for me. It’s an on-going effort—the struggle, as they say, is real.
But now I have some tried and true tools to use the next time someone tries to
take off my front bumper.

The moral of
the marshmallows? Save time for the important stuff now, and you’ll get back
double the benefit. More than double. A few minutes a day could add years to
your life.

·Back off those goals. It’s all about the process. Google “process versus goals”
and you’ll finds all kinds of helpful ideas about this. The important thing to
remember is that while finishing a novel is a worthwhile goal, you’re more likely to get there if you focus on the pleasure
you feel in the process of a daily
writing habit. Loving the process = progress = less stress.

·Work efficiently. Schedule intense work, like writing a
novel, in twenty-five minute segments with a five minute “mind wandering” break
at the end to serve as a refreshing reset. This gives your brain a break and
helps alleviate built-up stress. It’s also easier to push through tough or
scary work if it’s only for twenty-five minutes at a time.

·Don’t multi-task. Don’t even try. Humans can’t. And trying to do so actually
reduces your efficiency. If you’re like me, well, just call me Pavlov’s dog.
Every time one of my devices lets me know I have an email, message, or phone
call, I’m all over it. I finally learned to turn off those helpful little
pings. Be cognizant of how much checking your email or engaging in social media
fractures your attention. Fractured attention means accomplishing less in the
time you have. And what does that do to your stress level? Rocket ship to the
moon, anyone?

·Recognize your limits. Being overscheduled is a major
stressor. Work and family take priority. Beyond that, sometimes we have to just say no. If you can’t help a friend
or a cause right now, it doesn’t make you a bad person. Promise yourself you’ll
make time when doing so won’t hurt your health.

·Find your tribe. Just make sure it’s the right one for
you. People who have a support network live longer, healthier lives. Work,
hobbies, church, and, yes, Pokémon Go—all provide opportunities to connect.
Social media can be helpful, too. Just be aware that online communities don’t
offer the same level of healthy engagement. Get out there in person and
express—and feel—the love.

·

Yoga. Yeah, I know. Who has an extra hour in their day? Here’s
what I read that made me

change my mind: People with some of the worst stress
in the world—combat veterans—are finding significant relief with yoga. Some are
getting better results than they saw with traditional therapy or medications.
And even a few minutes a day helps.

·Meditate. Another, yeah, yeah. You force
yourself to sit there for ten minutes while your mind races over your to-do
list and your body is in sprint mode, waiting for the alarm to go off so you
can get to the important stuff. But here’s the deal—just five or ten minutes of
daily meditation (more is better) literally changes our brains for the better.
Google it.

·Fight for your body. It’s the only one you’ve got. Eat right.
Drink water. Exercise. It takes time now, but gives you more time in the
future. ‘nuff said.

·Keep perspective. If some of your stress comes from
keeping up with the Jones’ (or Stephen King or Harlan Coben or the guy in your
critique group), remember, this is your
journey. Lately I’ve been freaking out over whether people will like my debut
novel or if I’m capable of writing a respectable second book. I worry that I’m
not as good a daughter/mother/wife/friend as I want to be. This is one of those
middle-of-the-night monsters for me, and when it leaps, I take a deep,
meditative breath and remind myself that I am on my path, not anyone else’s. That’s something I can own.

All of the
above ideas take awareness, willingness and some time. But they translate into
more time on Earth. Which, in turn, means more time to write our stories. And
isn’t that what all of us want?

I’d love to
hear what stresses you out and how you cope with it. If any of these techniques
work for you, please share!

For every comment you make,
you’ll be entered in a drawing for an ARC of my debut novel, Blood on the Tracks. Our esteemed blog
master, Donnell Bell, will pick a random winner on August 31.

About the Author: Barbara worked as a raptor rehabilitator, instructional
designer, sword fighter, astronomy instructor, and
piano teacher before turning to writing. Now an award-winning author, she lives
in Colorado where she loves to snowshoe, cave, hike and drink single malt
Scotch—usually not at the same time. She is the author of the Special Agent
Parnell series featuring a railroad cop and her K9 partner.

Monday, August 22, 2016

I recently edited out a reference
to one character’s brown fingers being entwined with another character’s black.
The setting was SciFi, in a community where one’s skin color was no more
notable than one’s eye color. It was completely irrelevant to the story. I
strive for diversity in my fiction, but sometimes that means ethnicity doesn’t
matter.

I write SciFi and Romance. When I
realized that the descriptors of my non-white characters all depended on a
mention of skin color or eye shape, that bothered me. There is much more to
ethnicity than physical appearance.

That’s why I anticipated July’s
Write Brain presented by author and teacher Jason Evans, on Writing Authentic African-American
Characters with great eagerness. I want
my characters to be authentic, and to have agency, not just act as an entourage
for the white protagonist. A character without agency is one whose every word
and action is performed for the sake of the protagonist. They have no form of
their own.

Jason Evans was very easy to listen
to. He began the presentation with an overview of African-American history,
which shaped the community and made it what it is today. Most people know the
very basics; black Africans and other unfortunate people were brought to the
New World as slaves. Eventually, many nations realized that slavery was
inherently wrong, and outlawed the practice. In the United States, conflict
over whether or not slavery should be legal led to the Civil War. After the
war, the South faced great hardship, largely due to the fact that so much of
their economy was dependent on the practice of slavery.

In one hour, Mr. Evans brought
light to many important points. Although blacks were not the only ethnic group
to be enslaved, the obvious difference in their physical appearance made
it easy for any casual observer to identify an individual as a slave.
Generations after being freed, the African-American culture remained entwined
with the culture of poverty as not only was there a cultural and social bias
against them, laws were enacted for the sole purpose of oppressing
African-Americans as a group. The culture of poverty has intrinsic
consequences. The hopelessness and helplessness causes a person to be concerned
with immediate needs instead of long-term planning. Provincialism is prevalent;
people in poverty congregate together. They trust the people close to them, and
separate from people who are different.

Within the African-American
community, there are terms for people who have made their way out of poverty.
Some of these terms are slurs, intended against African-Americans who are seen
as having “given up their blackness.” An Oreo is a person who is black on the
outside, but white on the inside. A BAP is a Black American Princess. The Black
Bourgeois (or Bourgie) are African-Americans who are leaders in the community,
control property, and possess wealth. They may be reviled by other African
Americans, but not necessarily so. They can be elitist and obsessed with
materialism, or they can be admired as leaders in the community and the nation.

Many African-American stereotypes
exist in literature and film. The Numinous Negro, Mammy, The Noble Savage, The
Jezebel or Mandingo, and The Sapphire, a sassy, strong woman who emasculates
the men around her. All of those literary stereotypes are perfectly fine as
characters... just as long as they have agency. This means, as secondary
characters, they must put their agenda, their desires, before those of the
white protagonist.

We write what we know. But if we limit
our stories to the scope of our own experiences and identity, we are
handicapped as writers. It is possible to write a murder-mystery without
killing someone. I can write about life on the moon even though I’ve never been
there. And white writers, like me, can write authentic African-American
characters. It requires an active, inquisitive mind. Do the research. Learn
about the culture and how it developed. Observe people. Talk to
African-Americans about their experience and identity. Read what you’ve
written, and judge whether your character is just there to support the white
protagonist, or whether they have agency of their own.

Sometimes, ethnicity doesn’t
matter. J.K. Rowling recently shrugged off criticism that Hermione would be
played by a black actress. The characteristics that made her who she was had
nothing to do with her physical appearance. In television and film, it is easy
to either sprinkle in actors who possess certain non-white features, or to
completely white-wash the whole thing. In literature, the character’s
appearance is completely up to the author’s description. The challenge for the
author, when writing an African-American character, is to ensure that the
aspects that make the character who they are, beyond skin color, are reflected
in the things they do, the words they speak, and the lives they live.

This past Spring I returned to
Colorado after spending twenty years in Vermont, a state with little ethnic
diversity. It has been so enriching for my family, and for me as a writer, to
be back in a community with a rich and varied conglomeration of traditions,
skin colors, languages, and cultural systems. I once felt alone as a writer,
doing the work with little support. With Pikes Peak Writers I feel lifted up, buoyed
by the camaraderie and friendship I have found with my fellow writers.

Jason Evan’s presentation left me
wanting more, in a good way. He encouraged us to do further research, and
offered a list of recommended reading and viewing. Two hours does not make us
all experts in African-American characters with agency, but it does give us a
starting point regarding the formation of secondary characters who speak and
act like real people, not two-dimensional stereotypes. I hope Mr. Evans will
speak to the writing community again, expanding on this or other topics.

About the Author: AmyBeth Inverness is a writer by
birth and a redhead by choice, She is a creator of Speculative
Fiction and Romance. She can usually be found tapping away at her
laptop, writing the next novel or procrastinating by posting a SciFi Question
of the Day on Facebook and Google Plus. When she’s not writing, she’s kept very
busy making aluminum foil hats and raising two girls, a cat, a dog, and one
husband in their Colorado home.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Want to be more involved with Pikes Peak Writers? We're looking for a few good volunteers, both conference and non-conference, from chair stacker to board member, and everything inbetween. We'll have specific roles we're looking to fill, and an overviewof opportunities. Pikes Peak Writers is an all-volunteer organization,and we need your help to fill these roles!

For the second half, we'd like to hear from you! What do you want fromPikes Peak Writers? Aside from conference and non-conference programming, such as Write Brains, Open Critique, and Writers' Night, what would you like to see offered? What do you want from a writer's group? No idea too big or too small! Help us move forward and create new opportunities.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Pikes Peak Writers is
pleased to announce that Barbara Nickless will be one of four featured authors
at Tattered Cover’s Mystery Book Talk.
She will read from and sign her book, Blood
on the Tracks. Barbara said, “A dream come true: a signing at Tattered Cover.
I won't have books yet, just bling and a giveaway of an Advanced Readers Copy.
Hope to see folks there!”

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Writing can be a literal pain in the back. Or wrist. Or
posterior. Don’t let bad habits ruin your ability to create. I am fortunate to
work at a company that employs a full-time professional ergonomist. Mary Plehal
kindly shared valuable information specific to writers. Your particular needs
should be verified by your health care practitioner.

Perhaps your mother, or some other well-meaning person,
urges you to sit up straight. Or outright nags you to quit slouching! Annoying
though it is, your helpful posture "policeperson" is correct. Poor posture while
you are writing can cause all sorts of problems.

How do you maintain correct posture, without the presence of
the posture police?

Best Practices for
Posture

While Sitting:

Your
head should be balanced over your shoulders

Shoulders
are down and relaxed

The
low back has an inward curve

Knees
are very slightly below hip level

Elbows
are close to the torso and forearms are supported

Feet
rest comfortably on the floor or on a footrest

I’ll bet just looking at this picture made you sit up
straight!

Correct Adjustment of
Your Chair

I know some of you are going to complain that you have no
choice about your seating arrangements. You are a poor starving artist who only
has a straight backed wooden kitchen chair, or who has to grab a stool at the
coffee shop. Even under the worst circumstances, some of these hints can be
implemented. Keep in mind that the goal is to adjust your seating to support
good posture.

First
Adjustment:

Raise or
lower the height of your chair so that your shoulders are relaxed at your sides
and your hands are slightly below your elbows when your fingers are resting on
the keyboard.

Second
Adjustment:

If your chair is
too high, use a foot rest. The foot rest should be angled, especially if you
wear shoes with heels. Knees should be slightly lower than hips. Very tall
workers may need to raise their desk surface to accomplish this.

Third
Adjustment:

The height of your back rest should place the forward low
back curve (lumbar support) of the chair into the small of your back. This is the most common chair adjustment
error. Most chairs have the lumbar support too low.

Fourth
Adjustment:

The tilt of the
chair back should be in a very slight recline vs. straight up or tipping
forward. This relieves pressure on the low back

Fifth
Adjustment:

There should be a
3 finger width gap between the front of the chair and the back of the knee. Too much of a gap decreases support for the
upper body. Too little or no gap decreases circulation and causes workers to
scoot forward due to pressure behind the knee

Slide the seat pan
forward or backward (if this adjustment is an option)

Sixth
Adjustment:

Arm rests. Typical problems:

Shoulder winging = Too wide

Shoulder elevation = Too high

Shoulder slouching = Too low

Forward leaning = Too far forward if they prevent you from
getting close to your desk

Adjust armrests to
eliminate these problems. If this is not possible, remove the armrests all
together.

Best Practices For Standing

I am fortunate to have a sit-stand desk at work. I wish I
could afford to have one at home! These desks allow you to raise and lower the
surface. As you’ll learn in another installment of Ergonomics for Writers,
changing positions is ideal to avoid fatigue. Consider standing while you
write, if you have access to a stable surface of the correct height.

Head
and shoulders are balanced over hips

Shoulders
are relaxed

Feet
are hip width apart

A foot
rest is used intermittently

Shoes
are supportive

The
desk surface is approximately 2” below relaxed elbow height

A
standing mat is used on hard surfaces

Conclusion

Good posture is the key to avoiding physical fatigue while
writing. Keep these suggestions in mind as you are creating your next novel.
Breaking bad habits takes time. I find it helpful to pin posture reminders near
my work area.

Join me next month for a continuation of the series. We will
cover topics including desk arrangement, eye fatigue, and stretching.

Thanks again to Mary Plehal for her professional advice and
illustrations for Ergonomics for Writers!

About the Author: Catherine’s
fifth published short story appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine’s May
2016 issue. The second novel in her amateur sleuth murder mystery
series, Stone Cold Case – A Rock Shop Mystery, is available on-line
via Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and in e-book for Kindle. She anticipates a
fall release for book three. With a day job as an environmental regulatory
technician, her stories often have environmental or factory-based themes.
Others reflect her love of the Colorado mountains, fishing, and running.

Pikes Peak Writers

Welcome to the official blog of Pikes Peak Writers. We aim to inform, educate, enrich, and entertain writers. NOTE: The posts appearing on this blog may not be reposted or reprinted without the express permission of the author and Pikes Peak Writers.